Tensions high over Ryan pal's 'cocky' actions

TENSIONS among a small gang of dissident Republicans has led to fears that a gangster formerly associated with slain terror boss Alan Ryan will be targeted for a punishment attack.

An informed source explained that senior IRA figures in the capital are "angry" because they previously warned a 25-year-old, who is on bail for a serious offence, not to be associating with pals of Ryan.

Ryan was murdered in September 2012 by the a group of Dublin gangsters who clubbed together after the terror chief's northside mob attempted to extort cash from them.

"This fella, who is not long out of jail, is not paying heed to this at all and this could cause him some very serious bother in the near future.

"This man and a few others are going around Donaghmede and Coolock like they were before Alan Ryan was murdered. People are being intimidated by their 'in-your-face' carry on and it is making everything much more tense.

Earlier this month, the Herald revealed that one of Alan Ryan's best pals was given a severe hiding by a drugs trafficker who is suspected of having paid into a "gangland kitty" for the murder of Ryan.

However, this latest tension is being viewed as "a major fall-out" within the ranks of dissident Republicans in north Dublin.

Ryan, from Grange Abbey Drive in Donaghmede, Dublin 13, was gunned down on a north Dublin street in broad daylight on September 3, 2012.

He was killed when a gunman approached him from behind as he walked along Grange Lodge Avenue in Clongriffin with two friends.

Last month an inquest heard from the Ryan family solicitor that delays in the investigation into his murder are hampering his family's right to a prompt inquiry into his death.